


an ode to family

by itisjosh



Series: technicolour carnival [4]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Adoption, Alternate Universe - Foster Family, Family Dynamics, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Light Angst, but only at the beginning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:48:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27442192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itisjosh/pseuds/itisjosh
Summary: "Hey, Tommy?""Yeah?""Do you want to keep your last name or do you want to take mine?"
Relationships: TommyInnit & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson
Series: technicolour carnival [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2005195
Comments: 66
Kudos: 1578





	an ode to family

Tommy stares up at the ceiling, his legs propped up on the couch, his head resting on the floor. He's so fucking nervous. Phil said that he wanted to talk, and Tommy knows what that means. Phil's too nice to say it outright, but Tommy already knows what he means. This is probably his record, he thinks. Half a year of living in one home, with the same people. Tommy closes his eyes, feeling tears prick at them. _Fuck_ , he can't cry. He isn't going to make a big deal of this, he..he's done it before, he'll do it again. It's just how it works, he always gets pawned off to someone else. Tommy thought that maybe this time was different, but..it isn't, it never is. It's never going to be different. He'll be eighteen soon enough, and then he'll be thrown out of the system, left on the streets. There's only so much that can be done for him before he's just considered the world's problem. 

He sighs, nervousness pressing against his chest. It isn't even just that he's going to be leaving Phil, Wilbur, and Techno. He'll be leaving this fucking school, he'll be leaving Tubbo. At least he's got his number, but it isn't the same. He could be thrown halfway across the country for all he knows. At least..at least he's kept most of his stuff packed up. The first time Tommy was put somewhere, he was so ready to stay there for the rest of his life. To finally have a home, to finally have a family. Not even a month later he was being thrown back into the system after being deemed a "problem child". He doesn't even know what he _did_ , he was barely six fucking years old. Tommy got used to it after that. Being pawned off to someone new, them eventually getting tired of him. Being put back into the system to go through it all over again. Making friends and calling people family just made things harder for him, so he just stopped. 

God, he's so fucking stupid. He's started thinking of Phil as his dad, and he knew that he shouldn't have. He knew that it was going to happen, but he let himself just..he let himself pretend, he let himself do that. It's his own damn fault. 

"Hey," he winces when he hears Phil's voice. _Fuck,_ he isn't ready. Tommy thought he'd be able to do it, but goddammit, he was wrong. He was so fucking wrong. "Tommy? You good?"

"Yeah," he breathes out, keeping his eyes shut. He can't look at him. "I-"

"I've actually got a question for you," Phil interrupts, sitting down next to him. The weight of the couch shifts a little, and Tommy cracks open an eye. Phil is smiling. He's oddly happy for someone who's about to get rid of a kid. "Do you want to keep your last name or do you want to take mine?" _What?_ "I don't mind. Techno took mine, but Will kept his own. 'Course, we can always change it later, if you decide to-"

"You're not getting rid of me?" 

"What?" Phil stares at him, both eyebrows raised. "I think adopting you is probably the opposite of getting rid of you, Tommy."

 _Adopting you_.

 _Adoption_.

"You..you're.." Tommy launches himself to sit up properly, his eyes huge. "You're not fucking with me, r- right? There's no fucking way, this isn't..you're..this is real fucked of you to do before you pawn me off to someone else, Phil." 

Phil stares back at him, gently reaching out. He pulls Tommy in for a hug, and Tommy wishes he could resist it. "Tommy. I made my choice the day I met you. I've never brought a kid home before who I didn't end up adopting. Tommy, I've got a history of taking in problem kids who no one else wanted. The day I met you was the day I knew you were going to be my son," Phil tells him, his voice muffled. "You fit right in with everyone here, Tommy. I'm too goddamn attached to you to even consider letting you go back to the system," he pauses. "Unless that's what you'd prefer. So long as you're happy, I'd..I'd miss you, but I'd let it happen. Wilbur and Techno would miss you, too." 

Tommy breathes in, feeling himself break. He cries on Phil's shoulder, his entire body shaking so hard. He feels like he's going to be sick, but in the _good_ way. He's so happy, he's so..he's..

"I've never had a home before." 

"Well, Tommy," Phil holds him closer. "You do now. You can unpack your things now, Tommy. I know you've been keeping everything in a suitcase, but you don't need to do that anymore. This is home now, right? You're not going anywhere else." 

Tommy laughs, pulling away from Phil, from his _dad_. "I never thought..why? Why me? Out of every single fuckin' kid in the system, you chose the..the _problem_? The one no one wanted?" Phil smiles at him, reaching out to ruffle his hair. 

"You're not a problem, Tommy. You've just got a personality people aren't used to. You're a little shit, a little gremlin child," Phil teases, grinning at him. "But so was Techno. So was Will. And both of them ended up here. Tommy, you..listen," he sighs. "I got a call from the foster care system, since I've adopted two kids before. They were asking for help, 'cause they couldn't get you situated anywhere. They told me that you were a challenge, and that there was no way you were going to find a forever home. And I..I got kind of fucking pissed, because they said the same thing about Techno and Wilbur. And they weren't _problems_ , they were just _different_. Everyone who's different doesn't ever have a chance in that fucked up system, and I wasn't going to let you be thrown out on the streets just because you were different." 

"But-"

"No," Phil interrupts. "No. It was bullshit. They were sticking you in homes you weren't meant for. They were throwing you at people who had no fuckin' experience, and were considerd saints of their neighbourhoods. Those kinds of people were never looking for a kid, Tommy. At least, not a kid like you. They wanted someone who'd listen to them and give them all the clout that they wanted, so they'd be hailed as heroes for taking in some kid with a troubled past. They never wanted to _be_ parents. It's the sad truth of why a lot of people decide to be foster parents. To get all the sympathy and benefits without the actual part of having a kid. Whenever they got bored, or whenever the kid acted up, they could just get rid of them. It's bullshit, it's fucking crooked as hell, and it's _ridiculous_. You weren't ever the problem, Tommy. They were." 

Tommy blinks, his heart slowing for a second. "It wasn't me," he repeats. "I wasn't.."

"You were never the issue," Phil tells him, setting his hands on his shoulders. "Some people are just evil pieces of shit, Tommy." 

"You.." he closes his eyes for a second, feeling himself start to smile. "I..thank you. I never.."

Phil smiles back at him, his eyes soft and warm and.. _fuck_. He's home, Tommy's _home_. "Come on," he stands up, offering Tommy a hand. "Techno and Will already knew, but I figured you might want to see them. Welcome home, Tommy." 

Tommy coasts on the words, joy radiating off of him. 

Finally, he thinks.

 _Home_. 


End file.
